The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-02-16

JOnn BRADFORD, WnaG nave you 10 S8yF'
If there be any way Of going to Heaven on
dying Neander, what have you to say.n'1
am going to sleep now-good-night." "Dy-
ing MrsL Florence Foster, what have you to
say! "A pilgrim in the valley, but the
mountainous are all agleam from peak to
peak" dying Alexander Mather, what
bave you to say" "The Lord who has taken
care Of me fifty years, vii! not cast me off
Amen, amen. amen, amen!' "Dying John
Powson, after preaching the Gospel SO mauy
years, what have you to says" My death.bed
is bed of roses" Dying Doctor Thomas
Scott, what have you to says". "Ihis is
Heaven begun" "Dying soldier in the last
going to the 'front.'" "Dying telegraph ope-
rator on the battlefield Of Virginia, what
and the poles are up from Stony Point to
headquarters. "Dying Paul, what have you
to saysn II am now ready to be offered, and
the time of my departure is at hand; I have
fought the good fight, have finished my
course, have kept the faith. o Death,
where Is thy stinga o Grave, where
is thy victoryl Thanks be unto God WOO
giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ" o, my Lord, my God, what de-
lusion, what glorious delusion! Submerge
Luo Will H. ult ulH eyes dnu edIS WILL ~ pun
it under my dying head for pillow-this de-
lusion-spread itover me for canopy, put
it underneath me for an outspread wing, roll
it. over me in ocean surges ten thousand
fathoms deep! o, If infdelity and If atheism,
and II humiliation are reality, and the
Christian religion is delusion, give me the
delusion2
The strong conclusion Of every man and
woman in the house is that Christianity pro-
oh nd 70 ho n dol,
sion. A lie, cheat, swindle, an hallucina-
ton cannot launch such glory Of the ceptu-
ries. Your logic and your common sense con-
vince you that a bad cause cannot produce an
illustrious result; out Of the womb OF such q
monster no such angel can be born. There
are many in this house this morning, in the
galleries and on the main floor, who began
with thinking that the Christian religion was
a stupid farce, who have come to the conclu-
here to day7 Why did you sing this songi
Why did you bow your head in the opening
prayerl Why did you bring your family
with you? Why, when tell you Of the end.
ing Of all trials in the bosom Of God, do there
stand tears in your eyes-not tears Of grief,
but tears Of Joy, such as stand in the eyes Of
honlesick children far away at school when
some one talks to them about going homel
Why Is it that you can be so calmly sub
missive to the death of your loved one, about
whose departure you once were so angry
and so rebelliousl There is some
thing the matter with you. All your
friends have found out there Is a great
change. And if some Of you would give
your experience, you would give it in schol-
arly style. and others giving your expert
ence would give it in broken style, but the
one experience would be just as good as the
other. Some of you have read everything.
You are scientific and you are scholarly and
yet il should ask you: What is the most
"The most sensible thing ever did was to
give nv heart to God"
But there may be others here who have not
had early advantages, and II they were
asked to give their experience, they might
rise and give such testimony as the man gave
in a prayer. meeting. when he said: ION my
way here tonight, I met a man who asked
me where was going. said: i am going
to prayer-meeting.' He said: There are
them them ARE are decisions; aS; as as to the C Christian
religion, that Is only O. notion, that
rs reliaion. LIS I said to : him: stranger, you % see
that tavern over thereT yes he said, Il see
it, DO you see mep Yes, Of course I see
YOU Now, the time was, as everybody
in this town knows, that If had quarter
or dollar IN my POckeI coulu nob psSs tuiib
tavern without going in and getting drink;
all the people of jefferson could not keep mo
out Of that place; but God has changed my
heart, and the Lord Jesus Christ has
destroyed my thirst for strong drink, and
there is my whole weeks wages, and l have
no temptation to 60 in there; and, stranger,
If this IS notion, I want to tell you it is q
mighty powerful notion; 1t is notion tnat
has put clothes on my children's back; and IL
thanksgiving to God And, stranger, you
had better 20 along with me- you might get
religion, too; lots Of people are getting re-
ligion now.'"
Well, we will soon understand 1t al Your
life and mine will soon be over. We will
soon come to the last bar Of the music, to
the last act Of the tragedy, to the last page
Of the book-yea, to the last line and to the
last word, and to you and to me It Will either
be midnoon or midnight